BEVERLY HILLS—During an open discussion at a July formal meeting of the Beverly Hills City Council, a representative of a local homeowner association raised concerns of falsified reports on behalf of city officials.

Thomas White, Chairman of the Municipal League of Beverly Hills, got up to speak, “In order for our local system of local government and public asset management to function fairly and honestly, the council must rely on the integrity of staff representations.”

White referred to formal reports by government officials that stated residents favored a proposed 7.5 percent increase in water rate over the next two years.Those reports came from an April 24 meeting at which the issue was disseminated among various homeowner associations, reports White said were ultimately submitted for review by the council and were inaccurate.

White said the two senior officials who signed off on the report were in the meeting, but was omitting their names.

“I believe the council should reprimand this person and to ensure that this does not happen again,” White said. “It’s egregious and when the council relies on misinformation, the public is done a disservice.”

City Manager, Jeff Kolin. Photo courtesy of beverlyhills.org

City Manager Jeff Kolin, who re-initiated the defunct monthly informal meetings where this issue first sprang from that a number of homeowners associations attend to voice concerns to local government, replied to questions from Councilmember Bossi, who asked how staff came to the conclusion that the various HOAs supported the hike.Kolin stated Woodrow Clark, a representative from one of the associations present lauded the idea and, unofficially, called for a vote of support.

“This is not something that staff asked for a vote,” Kolin clarified.“We don’t do that at these meetings.”Kolin also stated there were no objections to Clark’s call for a unanimous positive vote.

In a letter to Mr. White sometime later to the Beverly Hills Courier, which covered the story following Mr. White’s account, Kolin stated, “Let me be clear: no City employee falsified documents. City staff is proud to serve the Beverly Hills community. We are committed to high standards of excellence, and every City employee I know works very hard to serve our residents and businesses with integrity and professionalism.”